AFRICA: Nigerian President Jonathan said the country was at war with Boko Haram, despite previous claims that the rebels were on the run and desperate.

AMERICAS: Venezuelan security forces used tear gas to break up a student demonstration in Caracas.

ASIA: Thai protesters said they will rally at ministries and companies linked to PM Shinawatra, keeping up pressure on her to resign.

EUROPE: A Moscow court ordered protest leader Alexei Navalny to be placed under house arrest.

MIDDLE EAST: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has begun withdrawing from parts of the country ahead of a deadline set by a rival group.

TECHNOLOGY: The tech industry came out against a surveillance program that allowed intelligence agencies to capture images from Yahoo users’ webcams.

TOP STORY

Ukraine:Armed men in military uniforms take control of two Crimean airports.

Acting President Turchynov convened a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council to discuss the situation in Crimea.

Interior Minister Avakov accused Russian forces of staging an “armed invasion” in Crimea, claiming they had blocked one military air base and entered an airport overnight.

Parliament called on the US and UK to uphold a pact signed with Russia to guarantee Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Earlier in the day US VP Biden promised pro-Western interim leaders “full” US support.

India: Seven policemen were killed in an ambush by suspected leftwing rebels in Chhattigarh. (Xinhua)

Korea, North: Pyongyang refused to entertain an official request from Seoul to release a South Korean missionary arrested four months ago on espionage charges. (AFP)

Philippines: Malaysia’s prime minister said the Philippines government and Muslim rebels will sign a peace deal “by the end of March”. (AFP)

Thailand: Protesters said they will rally at ministries and companies linked to PM Shinawatra, keeping up pressure on her to resign. (Reuters)

EUROPE

Region: Ministers from the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council are holding an informal meeting in Athens. (AP)

Russia: A Moscow court ordered protest leader Alexei Navalny to be placed under house arrest. (AFP)

Spain: More than 200 migrants stormed across a triple-layer border fence into Spain’s territory of Melilla. (AFP)

MIDDLE EAST

Iraq: A suicide bomber killed a prominent pro-government tribal sheik as well as six of his militiamen in Haditha. (AP)

Syria: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has begun withdrawing from parts of the country ahead of a deadline set by a rival group. (AFP)

Syria: Regime troops killed 20 armed rebels in a new ambush in the eastern countryside of Damascus. (Xinhua)

Yemen: At least 24 people were killed government troops and allied Islamists engaged in heavy fighting with Shiite rebels in the north. (AFP)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Communications: The tech industry came out against a surveillance program that allowed intelligence agencies to capture images from Yahoo users’ webcams. (Hillicon Valley)